TIG.
I would like to learn more about it. (As a hobby)
What can you teach/tell me?

As a side note, it will be done in a residence, and as a hobby, not commercially.
I was checking out the new Miller units. I have not purchased, but when I do it will be a Miller.

mitch

06-07-2006, 03:45 PM

Sounds like we might have an 'insider' to repair towers :D

Workin' 4 Toys

06-07-2006, 04:00 PM

Let's keep that on the DL......

I have "fun" with many things most would think of as "work".;)

kalanic

06-07-2006, 04:13 PM

What kind of info are you lookin for??

Workin' 4 Toys

06-08-2006, 10:17 AM

What kind of info are you lookin for??
Let's start with the "benefits" over mig...

kalanic

06-08-2006, 10:30 AM

IMO, honestly not a whole lot except maybe ease of set up, basicly none for TIG, set the machine, turn on shielding gas, & weld. I guess it depends on the welder. I have alot guys that are TIG Only welders & can't adjust a MIG machine to save their lives.

JimN

06-08-2006, 10:40 AM

Have you checked out "TIG Welding For Dummies"? :toast:

I've been thinking of taking a course for welding, too. A local tech school should be available and they usually have good teachers.

kalanic

06-08-2006, 10:47 AM

I think TIG welding takes alot more practice to learn than MIG. I can get most people welding with a MIG Machine within a days work. TIG takes alot more manipulation of walking the "puddle" & moving the Tungsten Consumable in the right way. Once you have mastered walking the "puddle", then you have to learn the speed to feed the filler metal into your arc without over feed & loosing your arc. With MIG your Filler Metal is your electrode & the machine takes care of feeding metal to the "puddle" for you. You just gotta worry about keeping the gun at the right distance from the work to keep the right arc. There are also different types of MIG arc's you can produce, Spray Arc, Short Circuit, Globular, etc..

mitch

06-08-2006, 11:03 AM

I think TIG welding takes alot more practice to learn than MIG. I can get most people welding with a MIG Machine within a days work. TIG takes alot more manipulation of walking the "puddle" & moving the Tungsten Consumable in the right way. Once you have mastered walking the "puddle", then you have to learn the speed to feed the filler metal into your arc without over feed & loosing your arc. With MIG your Filler Metal is your electrode & the machine takes care of feeding metal to the "puddle" for you. You just gotta worry about keeping the gun at the right distance from the work to keep the right arc. There are also different types of MIG arc's you can produce, Spray Arc, Short Circuit, Globular, etc..

You remember the pic of my tower crack? To build the tower, what did the manf use, Mig or Tig? Can you tell from the pic? Is one stronger than the other? Thx

kalanic

06-08-2006, 11:07 AM

To me it looks like TIG. Only by looking at the weave of the weld. I don't think one is stronger than the other. The only differance I see is speed. When set up correctly, MIG Is way faster.

Workin' 4 Toys

06-08-2006, 11:13 AM

Have you checked out "TIG Welding For Dummies"? :toast:

I've been thinking of taking a course for welding, too. A local tech school should be available and they usually have good teachers.
I have considered a class. However, I'd like the basics first, to see if its as tough as some people make it sound.
I had a full cage built professionally (by a chassis shop) about 2 years ago because I wanted it TIG'd. I got it back and they missed one tube, so instead of trailering it all the way back because I had the paint booth available, it required an immediate fix, so we MIG'd it. It turned out almost as well. Once painted you couldn't tell there was a difference.

Workin' 4 Toys

06-08-2006, 11:18 AM

IMO, honestly not a whole lot except maybe ease of set up, basicly none for TIG, set the machine, turn on shielding gas, & weld. I guess it depends on the welder. I have alot guys that are TIG Only welders & can't adjust a MIG machine to save their lives.
What determines which rod you use for Tig? Or are the rods universal?

kalanic

06-08-2006, 11:24 AM

What determines which rod you use for Tig? Or are the rods universal?
Your rod is actually your filler metal in TIG. The arc is produced by a Consumable electrode, usually Tungsten combined with a sheilding gas, usually argon or a argon/helium mix. Your filler metal will vary with the type of metal your are trying to join. In my occupation we use INCO 182 ERNiCr-3) as a universal filler metal. Basic carbon steel filler metal for TIG is called out as ER70S-2.

bigmac

06-08-2006, 11:56 AM

I have a big stick welder, a wire-feed MIG, and a big Lincoln 185 amp TIG welder. It's a hobby. The TIG welder was hard for me to learn, but when I'm on, it makes for a really nice weld. I considered a class, but didn't. My son is pretty good and does some chassis fabrication, and he taught me. I believe that some personal instruction in GTAW really facilitates the learning curve with that technique, more so than other types of welding.

M-Funf

06-08-2006, 12:02 PM

I considered a class, but didn't.

I took a welding class, but it was about 20 years ago...I forgot most of the stuff, but it was very helpful.

These days, most of the welding I do is MIG because it's very easy and convenient.

At work, I use TIG for welding small parts (down to .010" wall stainless tubing, .020" diameter tungsten electrode). I'm getting better, but still blow through the thin wall stuff...It's difficult to work on such small parts. I almost need a microscope to see what I'm doing. :o

Workin' 4 Toys

06-09-2006, 10:55 AM

Your rod is actually your filler metal in TIG. The arc is produced by a Consumable electrode, usually Tungsten combined with a sheilding gas, usually argon or a argon/helium mix. Your filler metal will vary with the type of metal your are trying to join. In my occupation we use INCO 182 ERNiCr-3) as a universal filler metal. Basic carbon steel filler metal for TIG is called out as ER70S-2.
How about stainless steel, aluminum and titanium? (Not together)
Not sure if you guys are Miller fans, but is there a certain model I should consider? It will be new, and it will not be used often. If I get into some heavy work, I would consider an upgrade, but I think you get the just of what I am trying to accomplish.

Workin' 4 Toys

06-09-2006, 11:04 AM

Right now I have a Lincoln AC225, and a Millermatic 251. I thought about getting the Spoolmate for doing aluminum, but if I go to TIG, I may as well skip it right?

kalanic

06-12-2006, 10:12 AM

Stainless steel is usually called out by its type except 304ss which is welded with ER308ss Stainless to Carbon Steel would be welded with ER309. Titanium would be ERTi-1. Aluminum is ER4043.

waterlogged882

06-12-2006, 02:03 PM

..........

Eddie Dodge

06-13-2006, 01:34 AM

I also wanted a miller, and only as a hobby also. I picked the Syncrowave 250, which is a little large for a hobby. I picked this one because of the duty cycle (60% @ 200 amps). The small tig welders have a lower duty cycle (Syncrowave 200, 40% @ 150 amps). I think If I was to do it again, I would go with the 200. I do not do enough with it to worry about the duty cycle. If you are going to do alot of aluminum, I would go with the 250. Also, I got the finger tip control for the heat range adjustment. I would go with the foot pedal. The finger tip is too bulky.

I have 2 migs, and when I am going to weld carbon steel, they are the ones to get used. I have one set up for sheet metal (Snapon 90 amp gas 23 wire), and the other for anything 1/8 or over. (Esab 250 35 wire)

I will agree that you need some training with the tig. It is very expensive to learn with the tig. The cost of the school is cheap compared to the consumables you will use learning by yourself.

The first machine I would buy would be a mig, 200 amp or better. The type of welding that I do (allot of carbon) you would be better off to get a 250. At the amps that I weld at I am at 100% duty cycle. I only have to let go of trigger when I am tired.

For a tig it would be cheaper to get a stick welder (250) and add a tig and high freq to it instead of getting a all in one unit. (more amps for the money).

Sorry for the talk about duty cycle. I learned on the plasma cutter. Can only cut 2 min out of 10. What a pain. The Snapon mig the same thing. Which is why I only use it for sheet metal.